The football club FC KTP, which is based in Kotka, Finland, has recruited Jamaican Olympic champion Kerron Stewart as part of its coaching staff. Stewart, 34, signed on with the club to work from May to September of 2019. Stewart has won world championships in 2009, 2013, and 2015, and her medals in Berlin in 2009 included a silver medal in the 100-meter sprint. She also won silver in the 100-meter women’s sprint at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and a bronze medal in the 200-meter event at the Games. Her personal best in the 100-meter sprint totaled 10.75 seconds, and her best time in the 200 meters is 21.99 seconds. Stewart announced in 2018 that she planned to retire from competition.
According to Jari-Pekka Gummerus, sales and marketing manager for KTP, the club plans to offer the running and coaching expertise of Stewart to other clubs in Finland and St. Petersburg, as well as to academic and sporting associations. The club already has plans to market Stewart’s coaching services. Gummerus said that the club hopes to sell coaching services in order to cover Stewart’s fee. Stewart herself said that she wanted to continue being involved in sports through coaching. She played football in high school,
The Finnish club expects Stewart to coach all of the KTP teams. The club’s marketing head said it was an investment. KTP was able to hire Stewart through a sports agent and had been in discussions with Stewart for some time about the coaching idea. The club views its offer to the Jamaican athlete as a way to contribute to her coaching career. The details of her contract with the club were not available.
